ll!" began Mrs. McIntyre; and each of the other ladies echoed,
"Oh, _well_!"

"Oh, _well_!" echoed Uncle Dick. "I'll tell you what: you had better
hurry back home and get their blankets rolled, and an extra pair of
shirts and some spare socks thrown together. And, boys, the best thing
you can do is to go down to the store and get some ammunition. We can
get all the grub we want from the ship's stores out at Kadiak. Now,
excuse me, ladies, but don't take my time arguing this matter, because
I've got several things to do; and the boat's going to start inside of
an hour, and we're going to start with her!"

Sure enough, when at last the heavy boom of the _Yucatan's_ warning
whistle caused the window glass along the main street to tremble, a
little party once more wended its way down the sidewalk toward the
wharf. Uncle Dick led the way, earnestly talking with three very grave
and anxious mothers. Behind him, perfectly happy, and shouting excitedly
to one another, came Rob, Jesse, and John. Each carried a rifle in its
case, and each looked excitedly now and then at the wagon which was
carrying their bundles of luggage to the wharf.

"All aboard!" called the mate at the head of the gang-plank, laying hold
of the side lines and waiting to pull it in. Again came the heavy
whistle of the ocean steamer. The little group now broke apart; and in a
moment the boys, somewhat sobered now, were waving their farewells to
the mothers, who stood, anxious and tearful, on the dock.

"Cast off, there!" came the hoarse order from the captain's bridge.

"Ay, ay, sir!" rejoined the mate, repeating the command to the dock
hands. Slowly the great propeller began to churn the green water astern
into white. The bow of the great vessel slowly swung, and majestically
she headed on her way out to the mouth of the bay. Clouds of white
gulls followed her, dipping and soaring. Once more her whistle saluted
the town from which she departed, its note echoing deeply from the steep
fronts of the adjacent mountains. The wheelsman laid the course straight
for the mouth of the gap between the outer mountains which marked the
mouth of the bay. In less than an hour the bold headlands were passed.
Beyond rolled the white-topped swells of the sea, across which lay none
might tell how much of adventure.

"Now," said Rob, turning to his friends, "maybe we'll see something of
the world."

III

THE JOURNEY TO THE NORTH

The good ship _Yucatan_ stead